Facing Fears
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: The Hartson girls, along with their pony friends must face their greatest fears when a witch named Jeweldara traps them in the forest of fears. RR


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the ponies or the Witches from the Volcano of Gloom. They belong to Hasbro. I do however own the Hartson girls, along with

their friends and family.

God loves you!

Enjoy!

"Facing Fears"

It was a beautiful day in Ponyland. Alicen Sierra Kimberly Miller, Megan Hartson's best friend was there, playing with the little ponies. Firefly had come to get her after school and she was now having fun doing the double inside out loop with her. Alice's older cousin, Josh, was watching her nervously while talking to Fizzy, Wind Whistler and Medley.

Since Alice was his little cousin, Josh sometimes got worried if she was doing something dangerous. And riding a flying pony who could do a double inside out loop was about number one on Josh's dangerous list. He had felt protective of Alice and her little sister, Samantha, ever since Josh's Uncle Tom, Alice and Samantha's father, walked out on them two years before, leaving their mother, Robin, to take care of the kids on her own.

"What's the matter?" Fizzy asked as she gazed at the seventeen year old boy. "You look worried about somethin'."

Josh nodded as he gazed up in the air where Alice was giggling up a storm.

Fizzy giggled softly and nuzzled the young boy.

"Aw, don't worry. Firefly wouldn't let anythin' happen to Alice. Alice is Megan's best friend after all. Besides, Megan views Firefly as her mother and boy does Firefly live up to it."

Fizzy giggled again.

Josh nodded and glanced back up at the sky nervously.

This just made Fizzy giggle again.

"Oh Josh you worry too much! It's a nice day today, the sun is shining, the birds are singin', there's no reason to be worrying about anythin'!"

Wind Whistler nodded before putting in her two cents.

"Fizzy is quite correct. The day is pleasant, so there's no need to be apprehensive about anything."

"What'd she say?" Josh asked, turning to Fizzy, who just giggled. Josh had only been to Ponyland a few times before and each time, he had fun, but he couldn't figure Wind Whistler out for anything.

Fizzy giggled again.

Just then, Gusty walked by. She nuzzled the teenager and then translated what Wind Whistler had said. She smiled at the young boy as she did so.

"Wind Whistler said it's such a nice day, there's no need to be worried about anything." Gusty replied.

Josh still looked confused.

"Is that what she said?"

Fizzy giggled as Firefly and Alice landed.

The dark blond haired girl got off the pink Pegasus and ran to her cousin and other pony friends.

"That was so much fun!" Alice said excitedly. She then turned to her cousin and asked, "Did you see us Josh, huh?"

Fizzy giggled and nuzzled the young girl. She really liked Alice a lot.

Josh nodded as he ruffled Alice's long blond hair.

"Yup. Just be careful okay, Ally?"

Alice nodded and grinned. Josh was the only one who called her Ally.

"Ready for another flight, sweetie?" Firefly asked, nuzzling Alice gently.

"I'm sort of hungry," Alice admitted. "But I'll go for another one after lunch."

Firefly nodded and smiled.

"Great! Speaking of lunch, I have to go get Megan and her sisters before Cupcake serves it. Do you want to come, Alice?"

Alice shook her head.

"No thanks. I think I'll help Cupcake in the kitchen. I'll see Megan when you get back. Thanks for the flight." Alice patted Firefly's mane before going

inside.

Josh turned to Firefly just then.

"How is Megan doing? Alice said she hasn't been at school too much lately. Is she sick?"

Firefly shook her head. She knew what was going on with her sweet girl, but she wasn't going to say anything. She had promised Megan she wouldn't' tell and she was determined to keep that promise.

Fizzy nodded in agreement. She too was wondering what was going on with Megan and her sisters. All of the little ponies loved all three Hartson girls very much. Fizzy then turned to Josh.

"Megan was here a few days ago, Molly and Julie too."

Josh nodded.

"How was she?"

"Okay I guess. Somethin''s up though."

"Why do you articulate such a thing?" Wind Whistler asked. "Megan and her sisters are just fine. I just saw her last week."

"Huh?" Fizzy asked.

"She asked what makes you say that?" Firefly translated for Wind Whistler.

Fizzy nodded and blushed. Then she shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Molly seemed more attached to me than usual and she didn't want to go home two days ago. Remember how upset she got?"

Firefly nodded and frowned.

"Yup. My precious peanut was sad all right."

"I just wish I knew what was goin' on." Fizzy said. "Megan usually tells me everythin'. Molly too. Molly is my best friend after all."

Firefly nodded and avoided Fizzy's gaze. She secretively knew what was troubling Megan and her sisters, but she wasn't about to break her promise to Megan.

"Speaking of my sweet girl, I'd better go and get her along with my precious peanut and my Jules. I'll see you guys later." She smiled as she took off for the Rainbow.

Josh smiled after her. He really thought that those special names Firefly had come up with for Megan and her sisters were really cute.

"I'll join you on the journey," Wind Whistler said.

"Count me in too," Lofty said. She knew Molly would be cheered up when she saw her. Even though Fizzy was Molly's best pony friend, Lofty cared about the child too. She was her favorite Pegasus next to Firefly. And of course, Baby Lofty thought of Molly as her big sister.

"Me too," Medley said. "I can't wait to see my sweet little hummingbird." She smiled as she rose in the air and soared next to Firefly with Lofty on her other side.

Firefly shot into the sky and rose higher and higher. She wanted to catch the Rainbow before Medley or Lofty did. This was sort of a game/race that the pegasi would play and Firefly was always the first one to start it. She loved having races with her best pony friends, especially Medley. Sometimes, Firefly

would let Medley win, but most of the time, the pink Pegasus beat everyone.

Meanwhile, faraway from Paradise Estate, near the black mountains sat the volcano of gloom. Inside, the three witches, Hydia, Draggle and Reeka were watching the little ponies and their friends through their scrying pool. Hydia had always wanted to get back at the little ponies and their friends for stealing Flutter Valley and destroying her smooze, but she could never come up with a plan big enough to do the job. She always hoped that her daughters would be able to think of one, but that was wishful thinking. Draggle and Reeka could sooner destroy the little ponies and their friends as fast as an octopus could

walk on land. Still, Hydia knew they had it in them. All they needed was one more try.

"Yeccchhh!" Hydia shouted. "How can those miserable little ponies have fun on a day like this?!"

"It's a beautiful day," Reeka said. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, there's not a cloud in the sky . . . . . bleah! It's enough to make me sick!"

"Yeah," Draggle replied. "It's a disgusting sight."

"I must do something to ruin those little ponies once and for all," Hydia said. "All I have to do is figure out what."

Reeka and Draggle both started making suggestions at the same time.

"We could steal the Rainbow of Light!" Reeka said.

"We could capture them!!" Draggle interrupted. "Great idea, huh, Mama?"

"WHAT. . . . . .DID. . . . . .YOU. . . . .CALL. . . . .ME?!"

Draggle shivered.

"I didn't mean to call you Mama!" She wailed.

"Yes you did!" Hydia shouted.

"No I didn't!" Draggle said.

Hydia glared at them.

"Now comes the time for some real answers. After you girls failed to get me Flutter Valley and the Rainbow of Light, not to mention your failed attempts with Uncle Charlie….."

Draggel gulped. She didn't like going to Ireland and she had been mad at Hydia ever since. They had eaten too many dates and Reeka had gained a few pounds.

"Why do we have to bother the little ponies anyway?" Draggle asked.

Hydia looked as if she was about to burst a temple.

"BECAUSE WE CAN!!! That's why! Now, I mean it girls, either figure out a way to damage their playful beautiful day or I'll do some damage to you!!"

Draggle and Reeka nodded. They ran out of the house and down the path leading to Dream Valley and Paradise Estate before Hydia had a chance to throw them out.

They didn't like being bossed around by Hydia, but they knew she knew best. At least that's what Hydia had told them whenever they questioned her plans or way of working them out.

Meanwhile over the Rainbow, Firefly, Medley and Lofty had just reached Megan's house.

When they got there,, they found Megan sitting on the back porch. She was holding Molly in her lap and it looked like the child was crying.

"What happened?" Firefly asked as she landed, nuzzling both Megan and Molly as she got closer. "What's the matter with Molly?"

Megan shook her head, but it was Molly who spoke.

"Mommy wants us back!" Molly cried. "She called Aunt Abby and they had a big fight on the phone. I couldn't sleep!"

"Aw, my precious peanut. Come here." Firefly said gently, while using her special name for Molly.

Molly climbed off Megan's lap and ran to her friend, burying her face in Firefly's mane, breathing in the sweet and familiar scent of strawberries and honey suckle. As Molly continued to cry, Lofty came over and nuzzled her gently.

"It's going to be okay," Lofty assured her friend. "I promise. Come on, sweetie. Let's fly!"

Molly smiled the first sincere smile she had in a few days and climbed onto Lofty's back. She then looked back at Megan and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Megan nodded as she got up and climbed on Firefly's back. She patted her best friend's mane and sighed. She too was feeling a little tired and she was also a little upset about what was going on. She didn't want to leave the safety of Aunt Abby's house and she knew both of her little sisters felt the same

way.

"Aw, it's going to be okay, my sweet girl. I promise." Firefly nuzzled Megan gently and Megan nodded. She knew Firefly spoke the truth.

Just then, Medley spoke up.

"What about Julie?" Medley asked.

"My poor little one was awake too. She has a little headache. I'll go and get her." Megan sighed as she dismounted from Firefly and walked into the house. She returned a few minutes later with Julie. She looked really tired.

When Julie saw Medley, she made a bee line for her best pony friend and threw her arms around Medley's neck. She then buried her face in Medley's mane and burst into tears.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, my sweet little hummingbird. It's going to be okay." Medley nuzzled Julie gently as the little girl climbed onto her back.

"Are Alice and Josh there yet?" Megan asked as she climbed back on Firefly and hung on as they flew towards Dream Valley and the Hartson children's second

home.

"Yup." Firefly replied. "They got there about three hours ago. Alice and I have been hanging out ever since. She's really a great kid."

Megan giggled as did Molly.

"I'll bet Josh loved that!" Molly said sarcastically.

"He wasn't too pleased, but it's cool!" Firefly said. "I know he still likes me."

Megan giggled.

"Megan!" Molly whined.

"Yes, my little sunshine?" Megan asked, using her special name for Molly.

"I'm hungry!"

"Well, we'll just have to fix that once we get to ponyland, won't we?"

"I'm hungry in my tummy too!" Julie whined from Medley's back.

Megan frowned a little.

"We sort of skipped dinner last night." Megan admitted, getting a concerned look from Firefly as well as Medley.

"Why on earth would you skip such an important meal?" Wind Whistler asked, shocked.

Megan sighed.

Firefly caught her best friend's mood change instantly and said, "When we get to ponyland, how about you and I go for a flight together, we can talk then."

Megan nodded and gave Firefly a grateful smile.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome, my sweet girl." Firefly said, as she nuzzled Megan gently while using her special name for her best friend of six years. SHe viewed Megan as her daughter.

Come to think of it, Firefly thought of all three Hartson children as her own. She loved them just as much.

Wind Whistler snorted impatiently.

"What was that for?" Molly asked.

"Megan still hasn't provided me with a solution to my query."

Megan sighed, but Firefly cut her off.

"I thought we settled this. If Megan doesn't want to talk about it, don't force her. Besides, she'll eat when we get home. We'll all eat. It's time for lunch anyway." Just as Firefly said this, she landed in Dream Valley.

Molly dismounted from Lofty and thanked her before rushing to find Fizzy. She patted the yellow pegasus' mane and gave her a hug. Then she ran off to find her best pony friend.

As Megan was following Firefly to the Estate, Alice and Josh came out.

Alice ran to Megan and gave her best friend a hug.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully. "Josh was just asking me how you were. Are you all right?"

Megan nodded, but Alice could tell something was wrong.

Josh then gave Molly a high five and patted Julie's shoulder as he led the way back into the Estate for lunch.

As Alice, Josh and the Hartson girls, along with the little ponies sat down for lunch, Alice started telling Megan about her trip to Disney World.

Somewhere in between Alice riding the tower of terror and Josh daring her to go on the Haunted Mansion, Firefly noticed that Megan wasn't eating anything. She was just moving her pasta around with her fork. Rather than ask her best friend why she wasn't eating, Firefly smiled and said, "Come on, my sweet

girl. Let's take that ride now." She got up and Megan mounted her.

Once Firefly took to the skies, she asked, "So what's been going on? You seemed a little out of it back there. What's on your mind, my sweet girl?" Firefly asked in concern.

Megan smiled at this. Firefly always knew how to get any of her friends to talk to her about something important or sensitive without sounding too intrusive. She was a good listener and she also gave good advice. She was also easy to talk to. Megan thought of Firefly as her mother and she loved her so much.

Megan sighed heavily before telling Firefly about the night before, which had been the worst since her mother had first voiced her desire to have Megan and her sisters come live with her again.

"My mother has been giving Aunt Abby a hard time. She wants us back, but Aunt Abby doesn't want us to go and live there again."

"I agree with Abby," Firefly said, nuzzling Megan gently. "You can't go back there Megan. It's wrong."

Megan nodded and sighed.

"I know. I've just been really scared. I mean what if Mom wins? I don't want to go back there again. Neither do Molly and Julie. We can't go back there again, Firefly! We can't." With that, Megan started to cry as she buried her face in Firefly's mane.

"Shh, shh, hush now, my sweet girl. Shh, it's okay, Megan. It's okay. Everything's going to be all right. I promise. Your Aunt Abby won't let anything happen to you or your sisters. I know it."

Megan nodded and let out a sob.

"And I know that if Mom gets custody of us again, she's going to move to Chicago and then dump us again. If she does that and a police officer finds us in Chicago, all alone, he might split us apart. I can't lose my sisters. I can't!"

Firefly nodded as she landed and let Megan dismount. Almost immediately after Megan had done so, she wrapped her arms around Firefly's neck and cried into her mane.

"Shh, shh, hush now, my sweet girl. It's okay, Megan. It's okay, honey. It's all right." Firefly started to nuzzle Megan and then stroke her hair with her front left hoof. Firefly felt a little like crying herself, but she knew she had to stay strong for Megan and her sisters. She had to support them as best she could. Firefly just prayed and hoped that Abby had everything under control.

After Megan had calmed down, she climbed back on Firefly and they headed back to the Estate to finish lunch. Even though Megan wasn't hungry, Firefly had convinced her to eat a little something.

On the flight back to Paradise Estate, Firefly was deep in thought as was Megan. Firefly knew what Megan had been through in the last few years and she had helped her sweet girl overcome everything from abandonment by her parents to abuse. She only hoped and prayed that Megan and Molly, not to mention Julie, wouldn't have to go through anymore emotional or physical pain. They didn't deserve it.

When they reached the Estate, they walked into the kitchen and Firefly coaxed Megan to eat some more lunch. She knew her sweet girl really wasn't hungry, but she also knew that Megan needed to eat.

After Megan had eaten a full plate and had drunken some of Princess Tiffany's juice, Firefly tucked her in for a nap.

Megan was tired and Firefly knew she would feel better once she got some rest.

Firefly stayed with her daughter until she was fast asleep. She wanted to make sure Megan was going to be okay before she left to see what the others were up to.

The pink pegasus wanted to get one more flighti n with Alice until the young girl had to go home for the night. Firefly really enjoyed spending time with her.

Once she was sure Megan was in dremland, she gave her a kiss before leaving the room. She asked Medly to get her if Megan woke up and the green pegasus agreed to help her best pony friend out.

She too was concerned for Megan and her sisters. Meldey wanted to make sure they were going to be okay.

Meanwhile, Reeka and Draggle were walking towards Paradise Estate, trying to think of a way to destroy the ponies' beautiful day.

"We could make it rain on them," Draggle suggested.

"That's so ordinary!" Reeka shouted.

"And I suppose you have any better ideas?!"

"Maybe a tornado. Yeah! A tornado will blow those pathetic little ponies off the face of the planet! Quick, get me the spell book!"

Draggle quickly whipped the spell book out and Reeka turned the pages, until she came to a page with a spell for a tornado. She smiled evilly, and rubbed her hands together.

"And now for the magic words!" she shouted.

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"

"Gesundheit," Draggle said.

An horu alte,r Megan had woken up and she felt a little bit better. She went outside to see what was going on.

As she was about to start a game of bubble catch with Fizzy, Molly and Baby Rainbow Star, she gazed up to find the sky was growing darker by the second. Thunder crashed, and lightning flashed.

Everyone else looked up at the sky. The wind began to pick up fast.

"What's happening?!" Posey shouted.

"It feels like a tornado!" Josh shouted, pulling Alice closer protectively.

"A tornado?!" Fizzy shouted. "Oh my goodness!"

"We'll all be blown away!" Firefly shouted.

"Megan, what are we gonna do!" Molly cried, running into her big sister's arms.

"It'll be all right, sweetie," Megan said, stroking Molly's hair. "We just have to stay calm."

"What are we going to do?" Alice asked, a slight quiver in her voice.

"I'm scared!" Julie whimpered. She let out a wail like a fire engine and buried her face in Medley's mane while wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Shh, shh, hush now, my sweet little hummingbird," Medley soothed while nuzzling Julie. "It's going to be okay." She took Julie into the Estate just as Megan called, "Head for the Estate!"

After everyone with the exception of Fizzy, Firefly and Twilight were safely indoors, Megan pulled out the Rainbow of Light from underneath her shirt. She opened up her cherished locket and said, "Rainbow of Light, do your stuff!"

The Rainbow of Light soared out of the locket at the sound of Megan's voice and obeyed its keeper. It swirled around the winds and rain until the tornado were no more.

Fizzy grinned.

"YEA MEGAN!!" She shouted. "You did it! You made the tornado go away!! Three cheers for Megan!"

Firefly smiled too and joined in cheering for her daughter.

All the little ponies and their friends began cheering for Megan.

After they had stopped cheering, Megan was blushing. She then started to clean up from the small tornado with everyone pitching in to help.

"Aw, it's gonna take forever to clean this mess!" Fizzy said despairingly.

Megan shook her head as she patted Fizzy's mane before picking up some loose twigs and putting them into a paper bag.

"Aw, no it won't Miss Fizzy." Megan assured her other best pony friend while using her special name for her. With that, the teenage girl started to sing.

Megan smiled around at her friends as the last of

the twigs and fallen leaves were picked up and thrown away. It had taken them awhile, but the outside of the Estate looked semi normal again. The rest of the leaves and things would just blow away on their own.

Megan sighed as she followed her family and friends into the Estate to relax. They all had earned it after the afternoon's events.

Meanwhile, a little ways from the Estate, Reeka and Draggle were panicking.

"What do we do now?" Draggle asked. "We can't go back to the Volcano of Gloom now! We failed! Hydia will be mad for sure!"

"Will you just relax?" Reeka asked. "We're going to take this to someone higher."

"Who?"

"You'll know when we get there. We have to get to the black mountains and see Jeweldara."

Jeweldara was a witch who lived on the other side of the black mountains. She mostly kept to herself, but she sometimes helped the Witches from the Volcano of Gloom out too.

In order for Reeka and Draggle to get to the black mountains, they had to cross shadow forest. And that was certainly something Draggle didn't like.

"I don't know, Reeka," Draggle said. "Maybe we'd be safer taking our chances with Hydia!"

"Come on, you scaredy cat!" Reeka shouted, dragging her sister into shadow forest by her hair.

"I don't want to see Jeweldara!" Draggle moaned. "She hates me!"

Reeka just glared at Draggle and continued to pull her along by her hair. When they reached the black mountains and Jeweldara's castle, Jeweldara let them in and glared at Draggle the second she saw her.

"Why'd you bring her?" She asked.

Reeka sighed.

"I couldn't just leave her at home. Besides, we need your help. We need you to help us get even with the little ponies and those three girls they are always hanging out with."

"Say no more," Jeweldara said. She then went into the long story about how the little ponies, with the help of Megan had taken the Rainbow of Light from her.

"We'll get even with the little ponies if it is the last thing we do!" Jeweldara said vengefully. She then started looking through books to find a good enough spell.

After what seemed like forever, Jeweldara finally came up with a semi good idea.

"Let's trap them in the forest of fears," she said. "They'll never get out of there!"

"Good idea!!" Reeka said. "I wish Draggle had your brain! Could you train her?"

Draggle hit Reeka over the head with her empty tea glass. She hated it whenever Reeka or Hydia picked on her.

Meanwhile back at Paradise Estate, Josh and the little ponies, along with Molly, were playing a game of Scrabble. Megan was watching, but not joining in. Even though Molly had asked her over and over again, Megan said she just wanted to read.

Molly didn't push it, but she knew that her big sister was upset about their situation at home. She was upset too. In fact, she didn't even want to go home the next day, but she knew she had to. They all had to.

Alice was writing in her diary. She wasn't much for scrabble.

Fizzy giggled as she glanced down at the word Josh had put down.

"Good one!" Fizzy said.

"Thanks Fizzy!" Josh said. "I've been savin' that one for Wind Whistler especially."

Wind Whistler gave her friend a smile. Then she put a word down that Fizzy blinked twice at as did Molly.

Julie was busy playing a game of UNO with Medley. She wasn't much for Scrabble and she just wanted to spend time with her pretty Medley right now.

"Beat that!" Wind Whistler stated.

"I'll take a whack at it!" North Star challenged.

This got Molly, Fizzy and Josh laughing.

After the game was over, Alice was itching for some flying. She and Firefly took to the skies and Josh once again watched them like a hawk.

Molly frowned as she mounted Fizzy.

"Why is Josh so obssessessed about Firefly?" She asked.

Fizzy giggled at Molly's pronunciation, but quickly corrected her best friend.

"It's obsessed."

"Ob-obssessed." Molly repeated.

"Good girl! That's right. And to answer your question, I have no idea. Josh is just nervous. And besides, we all know Firefly can get a little dare devilish when she wants to be."

"Can't help that, Fizz!" Firefly called from the sky where she was about to do her double-inside-out loop once again. It had quickly become one of Alice's favorite tricks and Firefly couldn't help but please Alice when she was there. After all, Alice didn't come often.

"Firefly!!!" Josh shouted. "Don't you-" But he was cut off by two things happening at once. Megan came out and suggested a treasure hunt and Firefly crashed into Lofty, causing both of them to go flying, literally. Luckily, Alice didn't fall off.

After Firefly landed, Josh gave Alice a hug and then sternly told her that she wasn't allowed to do the double inside out loop again for the rest of the day.

Alice pouted, but obeyed. After all, Josh was her big cousin and she knew she had to listen to him when they weren't at home.

Josh then glanced down at his watch and said, "Well, it's time for us to go." He gave Molly a hug and then let Alice hug Megan before Lofty and Skydancer took them home.

After Alice and Josh were gone, Megan said that they all needed partners for the treasure hunt. She climbed on Firefly's back and patted her mane gently while waiting for her sisters to pick partners of their own.

"And I'm goin' with you!" Fizzy said, coming up beside her. She had Molly on her back. "I love treasure hunts! Besides, unicorns are good luck. And good company too!"

"Great company!" Molly said, patting Fizzy's mane.

Fizzy giggled as a few bubbles came out of her horn.

Just then, Megan looked over to where Julie was patting Medley's mane gently.

"Do you want to join the treasure hunt, little one?" Megan asked, using her special name for her younger sister.

Julie shook her head and conitnued to pat Medley's mane.

"No thanks, sis." She said. "I wanna stay with my pretty Medley."

Megan nodded.

"Okay. Have fun you two."

"I'm sure we will." Medley told her friend. "We'll take a nice flight around Ponyland. How does that sound, my sweet little hummingbird?" She asked, turning to Julie.

Julie grinned.

"That sounds good to me!" Julie said with a girn.

After she and Medley left, Megan turend back to the task of setting the treasure hung up.

After everything was set up, everyone cheered and got ready to search for the treasure.

Molly was especially excited as was Fizzy. They both knew that Megan had a tendency to hide something really cool and they were anxious to find out what it was.

Meanwhile, Jeweldara, Draggle and Reeka were watching them from the sky, riding on Jeweldara's pet flying lizards.

"There they are," Jeweldara said. "You guys have the spell. So get to it."

"Right," Reeka said. "Ake-tay ose-thay onies-pay and-hay eir-thay einds-fray in-hay oo-tay the-hay orest-fay of-hay ears-fay!"

Reeka clapped her hands, and a strong wind blew. She grinned as she watched her handy work in action. She was sure that Hydia would be proud of her now. She had done a good job after all and she was sure that her spell had blown the little ponies and their friends into not only the forest of fears, but

into a different world altogether. But little did she know that the spell that she had just cast, just blew the little ponies and their Human friends into the forest of fears and that was all.

The other thing that Jeweldara and Draggle and Reeka weren't aware of was that the little ponies were very smart and so were their Human friends. they could get out of any dangerous situation and Megan did have the Rainbow of Light. It could help them out.

They weren't completely helpless and as long as Megan had the Rainbow of Light, she and her friends were safe.

Meanwhile back at Paradise Estate, the wind was blowing so hard, it nearly knocked all the Pegasus ponies out of the sky!

"What's going on now?!" Firefly shouted.

"It appears to be another wind storm," Wind Whistler said. "It's nearly as strong as a hurricane!"

The wind blew harder. Hardly anyone could stay on their feet in this wind.

With one large gust of wind, the ponies and their friends were all blown to a forest. It was a large forest, and everyone landed in separate parts of it.

Once all the ponies and their friends were separated, the wind stopped blowing immediately. Everything was calm and still once again.

Meanwhile, Reeka, Draggle and Jeweldara were smiling at their success.

"And I think that about takes care of the little ponies and their friends," Jeweldara said.

"Thanks for all your help, Jeweldara," Reeka said. "Hydia will be proud of us now!"

"My pleasure," Jeweldara said. "And don't be such a stranger, Reeka. Stop on by some time and we'll turn a couple of princes into toads." With that, Jeweldara steered her flying lizard back to her castle, while Reeka and Draggle took theirs back to the Volcano of Gloom. They crashed through the window of their

home, right at Hydia's feet.

"Well?!" Hydia asked. "Did you take care of the little ponies and their friends?"

"We sure did, Hydia!" Reeka shouted. "We sent them to the Forest of Fears!"

"Forest of Fears, eh?" Hydia asked. "Hmmm. Yes, they'll never get out of there! Looks like you dingbats did something right for a change!" Hydia began laughing hysterically. She then went over to her scrying pool and started to watch the little ponies and their friends progress. She was anxious to see if this

plan would work and she really hoped it would.

If it did, then that meant that Reeka and Draggle weren't so dumb after all. There was hope for them yet.

Meanwhile, back in the forest of fears, Molly was just coming to her senses. She sat up on the ground and looked around.

"Fizzy?" she asked. "Fizzy where are you? Fizzy!"

"I'm over here, Molly!" Fizzy shouted, running to her best friend. Molly wrapped her arms around Fizzy's neck and hugged her.

"Fizzy, I'm glad you're all right," she said. "But where are we? And where's Megan? Where are the others?"

"I don't know the answer to any of those questions," Fizzy said.

"I'm scared. I want Megan!" Molly's lower lip started to tremble and she burst into tears.

Fizzy nuzzled her best friend, and tried to comfort her.

"Shh, it's okay. Everythin's goin' to be okay. I promise. It's okay. It's all right. Shh…"

Fizzy started to nuzzle Molly gently and stroke her hair with her front right hoof. She then coaxed Molly to climb on her back.

Molly did so and buried her face in her best friend's mane for protection and comfort.

"Do you promise everything will be all right?" Molly asked tearfully.

"I promise. Have I ever let you down before?"

"No."

"That's right. Now come on!" With that, Fizzy galloped off in search of their friends. She just knew if she could only find Megan and Firefly, then everything would be okay.

Fizzy had a pretty good sense of direction when it came to navigating forests, but this one was especially dark, which meant that it was a little harder to get through than any ordinary forest.

As Fizzy picked a direction and started down a particular path, she prayed it would lead them somewhere positive. She wanted to get out of this place just as much as Molly did.

As Fizzy continued forward, she didn't know why, but something about where they were didn't feel right to her. She didn't have Galaxy's sixth sense, but she could feel something was definitely off about this place.

Meanwhile, Firefly and Megan were having problems of their own. They had gotten separated from the others as well. After finding each other, Megan held tight to Firefly's mane as if she was afraid the forest would swallow her whole.

"Wow!" Firefly said, shaking her head a little. "Hold on there, my sweet girl. Or maybe I should say, loosen up."

"Sorry," Megan said, blushing.

"It's okay. I know you're spooked. This place is a little creepy."

Megan nodded and tried to hide the fear she was feeling, but it was hard.

Firefly sensed her daughter's fear and nuzzled her gently.

"Aw, don't worry, my sweet girl. It's going to be okay. I promise. We'll be out of here soon."

Megan nodded. She knew her best friend who was more like a mother to her spoke the truth. She trusted Firefly fully.

"This place doesn't feel right." Megan told her. "Something feels off about it."

"You're telling me." Firefly agreed as she took off in search of an exit.

Just then, Firefly saw a group of lights up ahead. She flew for them, hoping that they would lead her and Megan to the others.

As they got deeper into the forest, Firefly started to realize her mistake too late. She frowned and tried to figure out a way to fix it. as they landed, she started going on foot or hoof as the case was. Unlike Flutter ponies, pegasus ponies were good at walking and running as well as flying.

"Where are we?" Megan asked, still riding Firefly.

"I'm not sure," Firefly said. "I honestly don't know. Let's keep going."

"Okay," Megan said. She was still holding onto Firefly's mane rather tightly.

"I don't think those lights were a good thing," Firefly said after a few minutes of silence had passed.

"Why do you say that?" Megan asked. Then as an after thought, she said, "You sound like Galaxy."

"Yeah, well, I've hung around her for such a long-Ouch!"

"What is it?" Megan asked. "Am I holding onto your mane too tightly?"

"No," Firefly assured her sweet girl. "It's not you. I just banged my nose on a…" She glanced up to see that the thing that looked like light was really a mirror. Little did they know how special and dangerous this mirror really was.

"What is it?" Megan asked. 'I mean I know it's a mirror, but what does it do?"

As if to answer Megan's question, the mirror started to glow. As Firefly backed away from it, her right hoof touched the glass, sending them both into the mirror.

"Pony feathers!" Firefly muttered, frustrated with what she had done. "This is just great."

Megan nodded in agreement as a little giggle escaped her lips. She loved it whenever Firefly said pony feathers.

"Something tells me that this is going to be anything but Wonderland." Megan said, a shiver going up her spine.

"I think you're right," Firefly said, giving in to her own feeling of apprehension and fear. "Well, I guess the best thing to do is look around." With that, she took to the sky, or really the air as the case was. "I just hope the others don't make the same mistake we did."

"You and me both," Megan said. "You and me both." She just hoped and prayed that they found their friends soon.

But something told Megan Fizzy and Molly would follow in their foot steps-whether they wanted to or not.

Megan didn't know why, but she had a feeling this mirror wasn't part of the treasure hunt.

In fact, Megan had a feeling it was part of someone else's plan altogheter. The only question was who would do this to them?

The young girl could think of a lot of enemeies of the magical variety who would like to see them trapped in a world without a way out.

As for Firefly, the pink pegasus didn't like the feeling she was getting from the forest they were just in, or the feeling she was getting from the mirror they had just entered. Something was off about the mirror and something in her heart was telling Megan that the mirror was more dangerous than it appeared to be.

Meanwhile, Fizzy and Molly were walking through the forest, trying to find their way out, or at least find Megan. They weren't talking much, which was very unusual for Fizzy. They were just concentrating on getting out of the forest. Then they would relax and chat again.

"Where are we?" Molly asked after a few minutes.

"I'm not sure," Fizzy said. SHE lit up her horn for light and was sorry she had. Up ahead was something that made Fizzy cringe.

Molly, sensing her best friend's fear, felt her lower lip starting to tremble.

"I'm scared!" Molly cried.

"I know you are," Fizzy said, trying to sound soothing, despite how scared she was. "But I promise, it's going to be okay. I promise. Come on." She galloped through the forest at top speed, trying to avoid what she had seen.

As they got to a clearing, they took a different path than Firefly and Megan had taken, but ended up at the strange mirror all the same.

"Gee," Fizzy said, forgetting her fear for a minute. "This mirror is pretty."

"It looks like Alice's mirror," Molly said, referring to her sister's best friend who had a magic mirror in her bedroom.

Molly ahd evne gone to Wonderland once and had met Alice's second family.

After staring at the mirror for a few more minutes, Fizzy decided it was best to leave.

"Well, come on," she said. "Let's go find-" But before she could finish her sentence, she tripped over a stick in the underbrush, making Molly fall off her back and right into the mirror! "

Molly!" Fizzy exclaimed,

fearing for her best friend. Fizzy did the only thing she could think of. She took a deep breath and touched the mirror. Almost instantly, she was pushed inside. She got up and looked around. "Molly!! Molly!"

"I'm over here!" Molly called back tearfully.

"I'm so sorry!" Fizzy said sincerely. "I didn't mean to do that. Are you okay?"

Molly nodded as she patted Fizzy's mane before mounting her again.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Fizzy asked, wanting to make sure that Molly was okay.

Molly nodded.

"I promise."

"Okay. That's good. Now, we just have to find a way out of here. Where ever here is. Let's look around." With that, they started walking down a deserted hallway.

Meanwhile Firefly and Megan were walking down another hallway parallel to Fizzy and Molly, even though they didn't know it. They had been walking for a long time until they came to a closed door.

"Should we go inside?" Firefly asked.

"Remember what you always say?" Megan said.

"What?" Firefly asked.

"Danger is my life," Megan said, letting a little giggle escape her lips.

"Ooh, you!" Firefly said, before pushing open the door and making her way inside. Once they got in, they found themselves in a long hallway. Firefly started going down it, not exactly sure what she was going to find, but knowing they had to try it.

As Megan and Firefly continued down the hallway, Megan started to recognize the layout. She shivered a little as realization hit her.

As they rounded the corner, they came to a room that Megan recognized instantly as her room back at Uncle Mark's house. It couldn't be…. It just couldn't be. They were away from him. They were living with their Aunt Abby now. Albeit, it looked like a temporary stay if Aunt Abby couldn't win against the Hartson girls' mother, but it was certainly a lot nicer and safer then where Megan, Julie and Molly had been living before.

As Megan got a closer look, she saw Molly crying on the bed and Fizzy trying to comfort her. When Fizzy saw Megan, she ran over to her.

"Gee, are we ever glad to see you!" She said. "We got trapped in this mirror thingy. We don't know how to get out! And then…. Then….." Her voice trailed off as she gazed at Molly, who hadn't yet seen Megan.

Megan nodded as the realization of what she was seeing dawned on her. She forced herself not to cry. She had to be brave for Molly and Julie, even though her little one wasn't there.

She had to be brave for her little sunshine. She couldn't let this happen. She WOULDN'T let this happen. If Aunt Abby lost

the custody battle, there was no way she, Megan and her sisters were going to live with Uncle Mark. He had hurt them too many times. They would move to ponyland and go to school by pegasai if that's what it took to keep them safe, anything but live the horror again.

Megan reached the bed and put a hand on Molly's shoulder. She took Molly off the bed and settled her in her lap.

"Shh," Megan soothed, stroking her little sister's hair. "Shh, hush now, my little sunshine. Megan's here now. I have you. I'm here now, honey. You're safe and sound now. Safe and sound in Megan's arms where you belong."

Molly nodded and her head found Megan's shoulder. She rested and closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the pain in her cheek.

Wind Whistler, who had joined them sometime after they had started the hunt made a suggestion just then.

"I suggest we find a way out of here now."

"Wow!" Fizzy said, "I actually understood that!"

Megan cracked a tiny smile. Fizzy was always one to make her smile.

"Come on," Megan said. "Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast, young lady!" An angry voice said from behind the young girl.

Megan whirled around to see Uncle Mark, standing behind her. He looked utterly mad and his hand was raised, ready to strike.

Megan thought fast. She put Molly on Firefly's back and said, "Firefly, get Molly out of here now!"

"You got it, my sweet girl." Firefly didn't need telling twice. She flew out of the window with her precious peanut on her back. She needed to get Molly to safety and fast. Firefly only prayed and hoped that Megan would be okay.

After Firefly and Molly were gone, Fizzy concentrated on helping Megan. Fizzy blew as hard as she could, trying to make the strongest protection bubble ever. It wasn't easy though. She was too worried about Megan's safety to concentrate.

Megan tried to fend off Uncle Mark with the Rainbow of Light, and it worked pretty well for a little while. As Megan was about to jump on Fizzy's back, Uncle Mark caught her by surprise. He grabbed her from behind and slapped her hard across the face.

"Leave her alone!" Fizzy shouted. She winked in front of Megan and said, "Hop on!"

Megan didn't need telling twice. She did so and Fizzy winked them outside and down the street. Once they were safely out of Uncle Mark's clutches, they went in search of Firefly and Molly.

After Fizzy and Megan searched for a half an hour, Megan opened up the Rainbow of Light and prayed and hoped that

her best friend of six years would see the signal.

To Megan's relief, Firefly did see it. She came ten minutes later.

"Firefly!" Megan exclaimed gratefully. She jumped off Fizzy's back and threw her arms around Firefly's neck, giving her a hug and burying her face in her mane.

"Shh, shh, hush now, my sweet girl. It's okay. Everything's okay now." Firefly nuzzled Megan gently as Molly dismounted and ran to Fizzy. Now all they needed to do was find their way out of the forest and everything would be okay. The question was how were they going to do that?

As Megan pondered the answer to that question, she touched the Rainbow of Light, praying and hoping it would give her a solution. It had never let her down before, but something was telling Megan that this was going to take a lot more than faith. If they wanted to get out of the forest of fears, it was going

to take teamwork and most of all, wits on everyone's parts.

Meanwhile, back at the Volcano of Gloom, Hydia was watching the whole thing through her scrying pool. She was not happy at all.

"We can't let them get out!" Hydia shouted. "I've come too far for them to get out of the Forest of Fears now!"

"But what are we going to do, Mama?" Draggle asked.

"WHAT. . . . . .DID. . . . . .YOU. . . . .CALL. . . . .ME?!"

"Hydia! Hydia! I mean Hydia!" Draggle whimpered.

"We'll just have to make it a little more difficult," Hydia said. "Those ponies and their pals will never make it out of that forest! No matter how hard they try!"

"But what do we do?" Draggle asked, not sure of how to stop the little ponies and their friends from escaping the forest. "How do we get them to stay in the forest?"

Hydia sighed.

"Leave that to me." She went over to a cauldron and started mixing up ingredients. After she was done, a swirl of pink smoke rose from the pot and straight into the forest. It glowed on a tree with berries.

"What'd ya do that for, Mama?" Draggle asked.

"WHAT. . . . . .DID. . . . . .YOU. . . . .CALL. . . . .ME?!" Hydia screeched.

"Hydia!" Draggle wailed. 'I didn't mean to call you Mama again."

Hydia didn't even bother to contradict her this time. She was too interested in her plan to worry about it.

if she had her way, Megan's world was going to become much worse than her puny mother wanting her and her sisters back. Much, much worse. Hydia just hoped that her plan would work. She couldn't let Megan and the little ponies win. She just couldn't. She had to find a way to beat them.

If only her daughters were more skilled at being evil, then maybe, just maybe the plan would have a chance of working.

But as Hydia thought about that, she sighed and shook her head. It was no use to rely on Draggle and Reeka. They had proven many times before that they couldn't be as evil as Hydia and they had no intention of perfecting their evilness anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the group walked and flew on until they came to the forest again. they sighed and went inside. Molly got off Fizzy and held her arms up to Megan who picked her up. She was tired and Megan knew it. everyone was getting tired and in Molly's case, she was also hungry.

"I'm hungry," Molly whined as she laid her head on Megan's shoulder.

"I know you are, my little sunshine. It's going to be okay. We'll eat soon." As Megan said this, they came to a tree with what looked to be…

"Berries!" Molly said happily.

"They look so delicious," Fizzy said, sniffing one of them. "Can we pick some, Megan? Please?"

Megan thought for a moment and said, "Sure. Why not? It's not like we're going to get much to eat around here in the next hour or so anyway."

As they picked the berries, Fizzy blew bubbles to keep the berries in since they didn't really have a basket. After at least two dozen berries were picked, the group started to eat them.

As the berry supply dwindled, Molly came across a small red berry that wasn't like any of the others they had picked before. She showed it to Megan who looked at it and came to the conclusion that it was a raspberry.

"Can I eat it?" Molly asked. "Please?"

Megan nodded.

"Sure. Go ahead."

Molly bit into it and made a face like she was eating a lima bean.

"Ew!!" She exclaimed before throwing it away in a nearby lake. "It's sour!"

Unfortunately, she had swallowed a little bit of the berry and the juice was now in her system, or so that's what they thought it was. Little did Megan know that it was far from berry juice. If only Megan had known what was about to happen, she would have thought twice before letting Molly eat the berry, but unlike Ribbon and Galaxy, Megan couldn't tell the future, so she was stuck waiting like everyone else. Megan couldn't help but think that something was wrong, and boy was she ever right!

Meanwhile, back at the Volcano of Gloom, Hydia had seen everything and was pleased once again.

"This is wonderful!!!" Hydia cheered as she watched the group rest for awhile. "It's perfect."

"What's perfect?" Draggle asked.

Hydia rolled her eyes at her daughter.

"The little brat and her sister fell for my berry trick. It won't be long now."

"But Hydia," Reeka said, "those were just blue berries and strawberries they picked. What's so dangerous about them?"

Hydia sighed.

"Not all of them were blueberries and strawberries. One of them, the one that that little brat ate was not a normal raspberry. It was a poisonous berry. Soon she'll feel sick and the poison will work its way through her system."

"Is there a cure?" Draggle asked stupidly.

"Of course there's a cure!" Hydia yelled. "But they won't find it in time. It's in Dream Valley and they are no where near getting home yet." She laughed along with her daughters as they continued to watch the ponies and their friends progress. Hydia only hoped that her plan would work. She needed to get

rid of the little ponies once and for all. And doing it by destroying Megan's hope was the best way to do it.

Meanwhile, the group was still searching for the exit out of the forest of fears. Everyone was getting tired and in Molly's case, starting to feel sick. She didn't know what had brought it on, but she knew she had to tell Megan and fast.

"Megan!" Molly whined a few minutes later, "I don't feel good!"

"Okay." Megan said. "Well, let's just see what's the matter, shall we?"

Megan dismounted from Firefly and took Molly from Fizzy's back. She held her little sunshine close as she put a hand to Molly's forehead and gasped. the child was burning up! Megan quickly dug a water bottle out of her bag and coaxed

Molly to drink some.

"My throat hurts!" Molly whimpered, burying her face in Megan's shoulder. "My head hurts too!"

"Shh," Megan said, starting to stroke Molly's hair gently. "It's going to be okay, my little sunshine, I promise. You're going to be okay."

Fizzy frowned as she nuzzled Molly gently. She didn't like it when her best friend was sick. She hoped Molly would feel better soon.

"What's the matter with Molly?" Fizzy asked as she gave her best friend a nuzzle.

"She's just tired," Megan said. "She has a bit of a fever too. I think she might be coming down with a cold or the flu. Either one."

Just then, Molly started to cough and hard.

Megan got the water out and this time, Molly drank half the bottle. It hurt her throat, but she did it anyway. By the time she was done, she was in tears. She was beginning to feel cold, even though the forest was hot and she was wearing a jacket.

Firefly exchanged a worried glance with Fizzy.

"Is there anythin' I can do?" Fizzy asked, wanting so badly to help her best friend.

Megan patted Fizzy's mane gently.

"Not right now. But I'll let you know, okay, Miss Fizzy?"

Fizzy nodded and frowned. She hoped Molly would feel better soon.

Firefly felt the same way. She didn't like it when her precious peanut wasn't feeling well.

"Molly just needs rest. She'll be okay. It's probably a twenty-four hour thing." Little did Megan know how wrong she was. Her little sister's tearful voice brought Megan out of her thoughts.

"Megan, I'm sleepy! I want to go back to Paradise Estate! I feel yucky!" Molly wailed as she let out a tired and painful sob, while burying her face in Megan's shoulder.

Megan sighed as she did her best to comfort her little sunshine.

"Shh," Megan soothed. "Shh, shh. Hush now, my little sunshine. Shh. Hush now, sweetie. It's okay, Molly. You're going to be all right. I promise. You're going to be fine. I'm going to take care of you and so are Firefly and Fizzy. You're going to feel better soon." She planted a gentle kiss on Molly's cheek and held her close to reassure her that she was okay.

"Megan's right," Fizzy said, putting a comforting hoof on Molly's left shoulder. "You're gonna be fine." She glanced at Megan for reassurance, but got none, which was very unusual. Megan was always one to have faith that everything was going to be okay, but this time, the young girl was searching for reassurance instead of feeling it. she didn't know if everything was going to be okay and it scared her more than anything about what the future held now. They had to get Molly better and then they would deal with the witches. First thing was first, Molly was Megan's first priority right now. Everything else came

second.

The group walked on for a little while longer until they came to a field with poppies in it.

Fizzy gasped.

"Oh my goodness!" She turned to Megan and said, "I don't think we should go in."

"Come on, Fizz!" Firefly shouted. "What if Dream Valley is on the other side?"

"Don't you remember what happened in "The Wizard of Oz"?" Fizzy asked.

Megan was a little apprehensive about entering the valley. She had seen The Wizard of Oz many a time, so she knew about the poppy field putting people to sleep. She was about to stay behind with Fizzy when Molly let out a painful sob and started to cough again, only making her cry harder. Megan hushed Molly

gently while hugging her little sister close, and turned to Fizzy.

"We'll have to risk it," she said.

"But Megan!" Fizzy shouted.

"We have to," Megan said. "It's the only way to help Molly."

Fizzy frowned, but nodded. She wanted more than anything to see Molly get better. And if going through the poppy field would help Molly recover, then Fizzy

would risk it.

"We've got to keep going," Megan said.

Firefly agreed as did Fizzy. They kept on going for awhile, each of them praying and hoping they would find the way out, for everyone's sake. Especially

Molly's.

"Do you want me to take Molly?" Fizzy asked. "I won't let anythin' happen to her."

Megan smiled down at Fizzy. She was a sweetheart.

"I know you wouldn't," Megan said, patting Fizzy's mane, "but Molly's half asleep now anyway."

Fizzy frowned.

"I told you those poppy things did somethin'!"

Megan shook her head as a little giggle escaped her lips.

"Miss Fizzy, Molly's tired from not feeling good. She needs her rest."

Fizzy nodded and blushed.

"Come on you two," Firefly said, "let's get going. We're almost out."

After the group walked along for a little while longer, Megan resigned to the fact of staying in the forest for the night. She sighed as she turned to her friends and announced what was going to happen. "We're gonna have to set up camp here for tonight."

"What?!!" Firefly and Fizzy said in unison.

"Danger may be my life," Firefly said, a small smile creasing the corners of her mouth, "but I want to live it."

Megan stifled a giggle.

"I know you guys are scared by this place, but we don't have a choice." Megan said. "Now, Firefly, you can gather bricks for a fire, Fizzy, help me with dinner and watch over Molly. Okay?"

Both ponies nodded. They were happy that Megan was taking charge like this. It made things a lot easier.

"What's for dinner?" Fizzy asked curiously.

"Eggs and sausage," Megan replied.

Fizzy smiled.

"I love that meal."

Just then, Molly woke up and started to cough.

"Easy, sweetie," Megan said gently, giving Molly some more water, "just take it easy now. It's okay. You're going to be all right, my little sunshine. I

romise."

Molly nodded as she sipped at the water, trying to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach. She wasn't feeling any better.

"How are you feelin'?" Fizzy asked. "Any better?"

Molly shook her head as she wrapped her arms around Fizzy's neck, seeking comfort from her best friend.

"Shh, shh, hush now, Molly. You're goin' to be okay. I promise. Shh, shh, hush. Shh, shh, hush. . . ." Fizzy started to nuzzle Molly and stroke her hair gently. She didn't like seeing her best friend in pain. "Shh, shh, hush. Shh, shh, hush. . . ." Fizzy continued to soothe Molly until the little girl was calm again.

"We're gonna stick here for the night," Megan told her baby sister. "Just for the night. We don't have much of a choice, honey. But don't worry, you're going to be okay."

Firefly then spoke up.

"What do you say we settle down and relax? I think we deserve it."

Megan smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You said it!" Fizzy said.

It was a rough night for everyone, especially Molly. She didn't sleep all that well and it wasn't for lack of trying. Megan sung to her, talk to her and it seemed to help, but Molly just couldn't fall into dreamland. Her stomachache and sore throat along with her cough, wouldn't let her rest. She fell into

a restless slumber around five-thirty in the morning and when it was time for everyone to get up, Megan didn't have the heart to wake her sleeping sister. She carried her along with her back pack and led the group to what she hoped was an exit out of the forest.

"I hope we get out of here soon," Firefly said. Just as she uttered these words, they saw a clearing. It wasn't a trick after all. It was actually the way out!

"We're free!" Fizzy shouted, blowing some bubbles in joy. "We're finally home free!" She giggled as she led the way out with the others following her.

Firefly resisted to the urge to do the double inside out loop in joy. She would have done under normal circumstances, but she had her sweet girl and precious peanut on her back and Firefly didn't want to mek Molly feel any wrose. She would do it once they returned to Dream Valley and Molly was feeling better.

Meanwhile, back at the Volcano of Gloom, Hydia was watching them in her scrying pool. She screeched with anger and tried to think of a solution to keep them from getting out, but couldn't. she was all out of ideas. Her daughters weren't much help either.

As Hydia watched the little ponies and their friends escape, she vowelled to get revenge on them again.

Meanwhile, the group had made it safely to the Mushromp, where the Moochick was trying to examine Molly.

"What happened?" The Moochick asked as he examined Molly, who was awake and coughing from her sore throat.

Seeing that Megan was trying to help Molly, Firefly took over the explaination with Fizzy's help.

"We got trapped in the forest of fears and then Molly ate a poisoned raspberry. It made her really sick."

"Can ya help her, Mr. Moochick?" Fizzy asked hopefully. "Please say you can help her."

The Moochick frowned for a minute and then nodded. HE then walked over to a shelf and picked up a book. After looking through it for a few minutes, he put it down and turned to the group.

"I have just the thing." He said. He then went to his garden and pulled a flower out of it. When he returned, he showed the flower to the group and Fizzy was the first one to speak.

"Gee, that flower's so beautiful! What is it called? It looks like a Rainbow."

The Moochick smiled and nodded.

"Why indeed it is," he said, setting the flower in a cup of some liquid.

"Huh?" Fizzy asked, making Megan giggle.

The Moochick smiled at Fizzy as he replied, "This flower is called the Rainbow daisy. It can cure anything. I'm going to mix it in the cure I have, but Molly is going to have to drink it and I warn you now, it won't be refreshing." He then turned to Megan and added, "Can I see the Rainbow of Light for a minute, my dear?"

Megan hesitated at first, but then opened up her locket.

"Rainbow of Light, do your stuff!" She said.

At the sound of Megan's voice, the Rainbow of Light soared out of the locket and obeyed its keeper. It flew into the cup and swirled around. As the Rainbow did so, it turned the liquid in the cup all different colors. After a minute, the Rainbow went back into the locket at Megan's command and the cure was

complete.

The Moochick then stirred it in a cup and brought it over to Molly.

Fizzy scrunched up her nose when she saw it, but then she nuzzled Molly and tried to hide her disgust from her best friend. She needed to convince Molly that it was okay to drink what was in the cup, or else her best friend would never get better.

Molly scrunched up her nose and at first, she tried to bury her face in Megan's shoulder, but the older girl wouldn't let her.

"You have to drink this, my little sunshine. I know it doesn't smell really good, but it will make you better. I promise. You want to get better, don't you?"

Molly nodded and sighed as she started to down the drink. After it was gone, Megan put a hand to Molly's forehead and was relieved to discover that her fever was breaking.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Megan said to the Moochick, who just smiled.

"You're quite welcome, my dear."

"Thanks you guys," Megan said, turning to her friends.

"Aw, it's not a problem, my sweet girl," Firefly said, nuzzling Megan and then Molly gently. "We all love Molly too. We can't have her feeling bad."

"You said it!" Fizzy said, nuzzling Molly as well before nuzzling Megan and blowing a few bubbles in celebration that Molly was feeling better.

Molly giggled at Fizzy's actions, a sure sign that she was feeling better and on the road to recovery.

The Moochick told Megan that Molly would recover slowly, but by Friday of that week, she should be all better. The symptoms would subside, but it would take a little bit for her sore throat and cough to go away.

"Thank you, Mr. Moochick, for everything," Megan said again. "I'm sure Molly will feel better in no time." She was going to give Molly some medicine when they got home to help her throat and cough. Megan was going to treat the remaining symptoms like a cold, that way Molly would get better sooner.

When the group returned to Paradise Estate, Julie threw herself into Megan's arms. She had been worried about her as well as Molly.

"Megan! You're back!! I was so worried about you!" Julie started to cry and buried her face in her big sister's shoulder as Megan held her close.

"Shh, shh, hush now, little one. It's okay now, Julie. It's all right, little one. It's all right. Your big sister's here now. It's okay. Everything's all right." Megan continued to hush Julie gently before setting her on Medley's back for the journey home.

As Megan got on Firefly, she picked Molly up from

the picnic blanket she was laying on and let Fizzy nuzzle her best friend before they headed over the Rainbow and back home again.

Fizzy nuzzled Megan too.

"See ya later," Fizzy said. "I hope Molly feels better."

Megan nodded as she patted Fizzy's mane gently.

"Molly will be okay. I promise. She just needs a little bit more rest. The worst is over now." She smiled reassuringly as she patted Fizzy's mane again. "Remember what I always say?"

Fizzy smiled and nodded.

"There's always another Rainbow."

"That's right," Megan said. She then held onto Firefly's mane as the pink Pegasus took off for the Rainbow and Aunt Abby's house. Medley was next to them.

When the five of them returned to Aunt Abby's house, Firefly nuzzled all three girls as did Medley.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay, my sweet girl?" Firefly asked as she nuzzled Megan a second time.

"Yup," Megan said as she threw her arms around Firefly's neck and patted her mane gently. "I love you, Firefly."

"Aw, I love you too, my sweet girl." Firefly nuzzled Megan again.

Medley nuzzled Julie as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay, my sweet little hummingbird. You be a good girl for Megan, all right?"

Julie nodded as she hugged Medley and patted her mane.

Firefly smiled as she gave Megan a kiss good night and then headed for Ponyland once again with Medley at her side.

By the time Megan and her sisters entered Aunt Abby's house five minutes later, both Molly and Julie were cranky and very tired.

Megan tucked both of her sisters in and sung them each a song they liked. After she patted Julie for awhile, she went to the room that she and Molly shared together, hoping to help her little sunshine get to sleep.

Molly didn't go to sleep too easily. She was still feeling a little sick and all she wanted was Megan. She still had her cough and Megan got her a drink of water in a sippy cup before she left for the bathroom.

Molly had stopped drinking from sippy cups when she was five years old, but whenever she was sick, Megan found that using them was the best way to avoid spills in the middle of the night.

"Good night, my little sunshine," Megan said, giving Molly a kiss on her cheek. 'I love you, honey."

"I love you too," Molly said sleepily. She was holding Megan's hand gently. She took her hand away and wrapped it around her stuffed Golden Retriever who she had named Brandon.

She had named him after the dog in one of her favorite TV Shows, "Punky Brewster". Megan often said that Molly acted a lot like Punky and Julie had even said that Molly was Punky Brewster's twin, just with light brown hair and hazel eyes. Molly liked that idea and enjoyed being compared to her.

"Megan?" She asked, her eyes suddenly opening and filling with unshed tears. "Megan, I want to go home! I want to go back home to Ponyland! I want Fizzy! I want Fizzy!"

Megan pulled Molly into her lap and gave her a much needed hug. She started stroking Molly's hair, which was in pigtails and started to undo them. She would redo Molly's hair in the morning. She knew that if she left Molly's pigtails in now, then it would be a hassle to brush them out later. She also didn't

want to hurt her little sister unnecessarily.

"Shh," Megan soothed, planting a kiss on Molly's cheek and holding her close. "Shh, hush now, my little sunshine. I know you do, sweetie. I know. We'll go back home to Ponyland tomorrow. I promise."

Molly nodded as she let out a tired sob. She was feeling really tired, but she really wanted Fizzy's comfort along with Megan's. She wanted her best friend so badly.

Megan then tucked Molly back in bed and sung to her once again. After Molly's steady breathing could be heard, Megan went downstairs to have tea with her aunt. She knew Abby was still awake. She always made tea around this time.

When Megan entered the kitchen, she found Abby making tea.

Abby smiled when she saw her niece.

"Do you want some tea, sweetie?"

Megan nodded and sat down across from her aunt.

There was a few minutes of silence before Megan broke it.

"What happened?" She asked. "Did we win?"

Abby sighed as she thought of the best way to answer her niece's question.

Just then, Molly's voice could be heard from the top of the stairs.

"Megan!" SHE whimpered.

Megan went to see what was wrong. Abby followed her and it was a good thing that Megan got there first. Molly had fallen asleep and had had a bad dream. She was fully awake, but in her haste to get to Megan, she didn't see Julie's sandals on the stairs. She tripped over them and fell.

Abby gasped, but Megan was quicker in acting. She took a deep breath and opened up the Rainbow of Light.

"Okay Rainbow of Light, do your stuff!" Megan said, hoping and praying that the Rainbow would get to her little sunshine in time.

The Rainbow of Light soared out of the locket at the sound of Megan's voice and obeyed its keeper. It circled around Molly, bringing the child down for a safe landing at the bottom of the staircase. She was still plenty scared and Megan could see a bruise forming on her left shoulder as well as a scratch

to her lip.

Megan ran forward and picked Molly up. the Rainbow had long since gone back into the locket.

Abby reached for Molly, but Molly pushed her away. She wanted one person and one person only. And that person was Megan.

"I want my sister!" Molly cried as Megan went to pick her up. 'I want Megan! I want Megan"

"Shh," Megan soothed. "SHh, hush now, my little sunshine. Shh, it's okay now. Megan has you. I'm here honey. You're okay. It's all right. Come on, sweetie. Let's get you sorted." She carried Molly upstairs and to the bathroom, their aunt following behind her. She was relieved that the Rainbow of Light had done its job.

Abby had never seen the Rainbow of Light in action before and she always wondered how it worked. She was going to have to ask Megan about that later.

"All right. Let's get you some ice for that shoulder of yours. Come on." Megan put some cream on Molly's cut lip and then took her to the kitchen to get her some ice. After she had applied the ice to Molly's shoulder and knee, she carried her sister into the living room and sat down on the couch, cradling her in her arms.

Abby followed and sat across from her two nieces. She needed to answer Megan's question and she also had one of her own, but she would wait until Megan got Molly calmed down first.

"Shh," Megan soothed, stroking Molly's hair. "SHh, hush now, my little sunshine. It's okay. You're all right. You're safe and sound in Megan's arms where you belong. You're okay. It's all right, sweetie. You're all right. That's my little sunshine. That's my little sunshine. That's my girl. That's my girl." She gave Molly a kiss on her cheek. As she continued to stroke Molly's hair gently, her baby sister started to calm down, but not by much.

Just then, Molly's tearful voice broke the silence.

"I want Fizzy!" Molly whimpered against Megan's shoulder. "I want Fizzy! I want to go home! I want Fizzy! I want to go home to Ponyland!! I want Fizzy!"

Megan sighed as she tried to calm Molly down.

"Who is she talking about?" Abby asked. She knew who Firefly was and she had met Medley and Lofty several times, but she hadn't yet met Fizzy.

Abby then asked another question that had been on her mind since Megan had rescued Molly from her tumble down the stairs.

"Just out of curiosity, what in the world

did you do in the living room a few seconds ago?"

Megan was reeling from her aunt's twenty or so questions. She needed to collect herself before she tried to answer them. She took a deep breath and tried to calm Molly down first.

"Shh," Megan soothed. "Shh, hush now, my little sunshine. Shh. It's okay, sweetie. Everything's going to be okay now. Everything's all right. Hush now." She planted a kiss on Molly's cheek and started to stroke her hair, but it was no use.

Molly still was upset and Megan knew she wasn't going to feel better until she got what she needed. In this case, it wasn't something Molly wanted. It was something she needed. And it wasn't something Megan knew Molly could wait until morning for. This was something she needed now.

Megan sighed and turned to her aunt.

"I'll be right back." She said. "I have to take care of Molly. I'll explain everything when I get back, I promise." With that, Megan left in order to help Molly feel better.

Megan dashed outside to the familiar barn structure, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn't want to wake ROSE Petal up and have her start whinnying because she was happy to see her. She would wake up half the neighborhood.

As Megan sat on the well's chair, she opened up the Rainbow of Light, hoping and praying that Firefly would see her signal. She sighed with relief when Firefly came soaring over the Rainbow towards them.

As Firefly landed, Megan got up and went to where Firefly was now standing.

She gave Molly a gentle kiss and hug before gently

placing her on Firefly's back.

"Are you ready to come home, my sweet girl? " Firefly asked, smiling at Megan lovingly.

Megan smiled at hearing Firefly use her special name she had made up for her, but shook her head.

"Not yet. Molly is though. She had a bit of a scare and she's really tired. She's been asking for Fizzy ever since. She needs her sleep too."

Firefly nodded as she nuzzled Molly gently.

"It's okay my precious peanut, " Firefly said gently. "It's all right now. Let's get you home and in bed." She then nuzzled Megan who hugged her and patted her mane gently in return.

"Thanks Firefly," Megan said sincerely. "Thanks for everything."

Firefly nodded.

"No problem, sweetie. So I'll see you around ten-thirty tomorrow morning?"

Megan shrugged.

"Either that or eleven o' clock tonight. I'll let you know via Rainbow. Don't worry, you'll be the first one to know."

"Gotcha," Firefly said. She then nuzzled Megan gently before taking off with Molly towards the Rainbow and Ponyland.

After Firefly disappeared over the Rainbow with Molly, Megan went back inside. She needed to explain things to her aunt.

Megan entered the living room to find Abby in the same place as before. She sat down across from her and said, "Sorry about that."

Abby nodded. She understood completely. She didn't need to ask where Molly was, because she already knew. Molly was in the safest place she could be. Ponyland was the safest place for all three of Abby's nieces right now.

"Okay. Now, to your first question. What you saw me do in the living room was use the Rainbow of Light. That's what helped Molly to not get seriously hurt when she took her tumble down the stairs tonight." Megan took the heart shaped locket off her neck and held it out for Abby to see.

She knew Abby had seen it before, but she had never actually touched it.

After Abby was done examining the Rainbow of Light, she handed it gently back to Megan and Megan secured her beloved necklace around her neck. After that, Megan continued.

"The Moochick, an absentminded magician who lives in Ponyland gave it to me when Firefly took me there for the first time six years ago. I'm its keeper, so it won't take orders from anyone else but me. The only exception is if there is an emergency. In that case, Julie is the alternate keeper and Firefly is the pony keeper for the Rainbow of Light. It helps protect the little ponies from danger and it also helped protect Molly, Julie and I from…" Megan's voice trailed off. She had caught herself almost saying Uncle Mark's name. "Anyway, to your second

question, Fizzy is Molly's best friend in the whole world. Molly met Fizzy when I took her to Ponyland for her second birthday. She and Fizzy have been friends ever since. Fizzy is really sweet and easy going. She's the friendliest unicorn I know. She loves Molly, Julie and I very much."

Abby nodded and smiled. Fizzy sounds like a sweetheart. She would have to meet her the next time she went to Ponyland.

Megan smiled too. She was glad that Abby was taking this so well.

After a few minutes of silence, Megan asked, "Now, that I've answered your questions, can you answer the one I asked you before Molly had her accident?"

Abby nodded and sighed. She knew she was going to have to tell Megan what had happened sooner or later.

"We won, but I don't think your mother is going to give up without a fight."

Megan sighed too. She knew this was going to happen.

"What are we going to do?" Megan asked. "We can't go back and live with her Aunt Abby, we can't!"

Abby nodded and came over to where Megan was sitting. She gave her niece a much needed hug.

"I know you can't and I fully agree with you. I guess there's only one thing for you to do."

Megan sighed and looked up at her aunt hopefully.

"What's that, Aunt Abby?" Megan asked.

"Move to Ponyland permanently," Abby replied.

Megan nodded, but then did a double take. She blinked and then asked, "Did I hear you right?"

Abby smiled and nodded.

"You did indeed. I know Ponyland is the safest place for you girls right now. Just don't forget to come and visit me every now and again, hmmm?"

Abby gave Megan a hug, which she returned. "I love you and your sisters so much, Megan Julia Hartson."

Megan nodded as she gave her aunt a kiss.

"I love you too, Aunt Abby." Megan then gave her aunt another hug and then smiled. "Thank you, Aunt Abby! Thank you!"

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie. I know you guys will be safe and happy there. And I'll come visit you up there sometimes. Just send Firefly or North Star to get me." Abby then added, "I think you should take Kassy too. I love having her here, but I think she would be happier in Ponyland with her favorite big cousin, hmmmm?" Abby smiled.

Megan nodded and grinned. She knew Abby spoke the truth. Megan smiled and gave her aunt another hug before

rushing off to pack some last minute things for her sisters and herself. Once Megan did that, she went upstairs and woke Julie up.

"Come on, little one," Megan said, picking her younger sister up gently. "It's time to go bye-byes."

Julie stirred a little.

"Whe-where are we going, Megan?" Julie asked, snuggling into her big sister for a cuddle.

"We're going home," Megan said. "We're going home." She smiled as she carried Julie downstairs and gave Aunt Abby one last kiss and hug. She then let her aunt kiss Julie, who was half asleep. After Megan picked up her bags, she went out to the barn and opened up the Rainbow of Light.

Megan would come and get Kassy in the morning. She knew Aunt Abby wouldn't mind.

Firefly came soaring over the Rainbow five minutes later. When she landed, Megan gave her a hug, patted her mane and then jumped onto her back.

"Ready to go, sweetie? " Firefly asked, nuzzling her best friend gently.

Megan nodded.

"Yup. Come on, Firefly." She said smiling. "Let's go home."

"You said it, my sweet girl. You said it." With that, Firefly soared over the Rainbow and back to Ponyland.

When they got there, Megan tucked Julie into bed and then went straight to the room that she shared with Molly. She was really tired and knew she needed her rest. She checked on Molly, gave her baby sister a kiss and crawled into bed. she fell asleep almost the second her head hit the pillow.

Before Megan actually drifted off to sleep, she said her prayers and thanked God for helping her explain everything to Aunt Abby. Megan knew that everything was going to be okay no matter what happened. After all, there was always another Rainbow around the bend.

Megan fell asleep to sweet dreams and she looked forward to the days ahead. The days she would spend with her sisters and little cousin and all her friends in Ponyland. Especially Firefly, Fizzy and Medley.

Megan also knew that the baby ponies, Baby Cotton Candy and Baby Moondancer especially, were going to be very happy when Megan told them the news. They both loved Megan to pieces and loved spending time with her. Megan loved Baby Cotton Candy and Baby Moondancer the most.

The next afternoon, Firefly wanted to take a flight with Megan. She knew Megan had some good news, but she wasn't sure what it was. Firefly had wanted Megan to tell her what it was the night before, but her sweet girl had gone straight to bed after she got back from her Aunt Abby's house. She was so tired from

the last few days and Firefly knew her sweet girl needed the rest.

Firefly found Megan in the lullaby nursery, putting Baby Cotton Candy, Baby Moondancer, Baby Lofty and Baby Cuddles down for their naps.

"Good night you guys," Megan was saying, "sweet dreams. I love you all very much." She gave them a kiss before leaving the room. As she was leaving, Baby Cotton Candy called her back.

"Megan?"

"Yes, Baby Cotton Candy?" Megan asked, coming back into the room.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" She asked hopefully.

"I sure will," Megan said.

Baby Cotton Candy looked surprised.

"You're never here after I wake up. Are you staying for a few days?"

Megan nodded.

"Yup. Actually, I'm staying longer than that." She smiled from ear to ear as she said this.

"Why?" Baby Cuddles asked.

"That's what I want to know," a familiar, gentle, but curious voice said in the doorway.

Megan jumped and whirled around to see Firefly standing there. She was smiling gently at her.

"You wanted to take a flight, my sweet girl?"

Megan nodded and climbed on Firefly's back. As they took to the air, Megan asked a question, trying to change the subject.

"So how are Ember's reading lessons going?"

Firefly smiled.

"Oh no you don't my sweet girl. You're not changing the subject that easily. I'm happy you're staying here, but what's going on?" Firefly asked.

Megan took a deep breath before answering her best friend's question. She hadn't told anyone what had happened the night she, Julie and Molly had returned home after the whole forest of fears incident. She had wanted to forget it, but she knew she couldn't. she had to tell someone and that someone was going to be Firefly. Firefly was her best friend after all.

In fact, Megan thought of Firefly as her mother and Firefly thought of Megan as her own daughter. She loved the young girl so much.

"You already know that our mother took Aunt Abby to court to regain custody of us, right?" Megan asked, shaking a little at the thought.

"Uh-huh," Firefly replied.

"Well, when we got home last night, I tucked Julie and Molly in bed and that's when Molly started crying and saying she wanted Fizzy. I calmed her down and sung her to sleep. Then I went downstairs to have tea with Aunt Abby. I asked her how the hearing went and she said we won, but she didn't think it was over yet. Molly then fell down the stairs and I used the Rainbow of Light to save her. After I had cleaned Molly up, she just kept saying she wanted Fizzy, so that's when I called you. After you and Molly left, I went back inside to talk to Aunt Abby. She wanted to know who Fizzy was and how the Rainbow of Light worked and how I had gotten it. She already knew you and Medley and she knows how we met, but I had never explained the Rainbow of Light to her before. After I was done, she answered my question. She told us that while we won, she didn't think Mom was going to give up so easily."

"So what happened then?" Firefly asked, afraid of the answer.

Megan smiled reassuringly and patted Firefly's mane.

"I asked Aunt Abby what we should do and that's when she said that Molly, Julie and I should move to Ponyland permanently. She said she knew it was the safest place. She's going to come and visit us every once in a while and we're going to see her every other weekend. We still have a home there. Aunt Abby just wants us to stay safe until our mother gives up on this whole wanting us back thing."

Firefly nodded and nuzzled Megan gently. She then did her double inside out loop out of pure joy and excitement, which got Megan giggling.

After Firefly had calmed down, she said,

"Oh my sweet girl, that's terrific! That means seeing you and Julie and Molly every day when we wake up! That's the best news ever! I can't wait to tell the others."

"We will. But right now, let's go back to Paradise Estate and see if Fizzy wants to play some bubble ball."

Firefly liked that idea and smiled as she took off for the Estate.

Megan knew she was going to enjoy living in Ponyland and she only hoped she would be able to be a good teacher to Julie and Molly now that they were going to be home schooled.

Posey had agreed to do science while Firefly took over reading and Megan did math. Megan just prayed it all worked out for the best.

Later that night, Megan told all of the little ponies the good news. Everyone was happy, especially Fizzy, Medley and Twilight and Ember, along with the other baby ponies.

"This calls for a celebration!" Cupcake stated. "A celebration to celebrate Megan, Julie, Molly and Kassy coming to live with us!"

Everyone cheered.

"You said it!" Fizzy said, giggling as a few bubbles came out of her horn.

Molly giggled at this. She loved it whenever Fizzy used her unicorn magic and this time was no acception.

Everyone helped out with the dinner and by the time it was over, everyone was stuffed, but in a good way.

Julie went to read and spend time with Medley while Megan played a game of Scattagories with Firefly, Fizzy and Molly. She wanted to beat Firefly at something for a change and she knew how much her little sunshine loved Scattegories.

As Megan lay down for bed a few hours later, she smiled to herself. She felt like for the first time, everything was going to be okay. There was always another rainbow and she

had found hers.

Their lives were going to change for the better and Megan was ready for it.

Megan fell asleep that night to sweet dreams and looked forward to the morning and days ahead. She couldn't wait to get the next day started. She was looking forward to spending time with Julie, Molly and all of the little ponies. Especially Firefly, Fizzy and Medley.

Megan was proud of herself that she had faced down her fears and her friends and family had too. They had been tested and they had passed with flying colors.

THE END


End file.
